Bengel, Outlaw trade barbs, offer ideas during their final debate

By Eddie Fitzgerald, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at 03:33 PM.

“While the mayor may have had his problems or issues, I did not ask for his resignation,” she said. “But I did try to offer my help to him and assistance. As aldermen of the city of New Bern, we are all leaders and follow that path.”

When Outlaw was asked what he planned to do about high utility rates, an issue he has brought up several times in the campaign, he pointed out his record on the Board of Aldermen when he opposed a proposal to add a goal to the N.C. League of Municipalities to allow the city to provide electric power to all property annexed into the city limits. That proposal, supported by Bengel and the rest of the board, passed.

If electric rates were 4 percent or 5 percent higher than surrounding cities, Outlaw said he might have voted for it. But not when New Bern was 30 percent higher in electric rates, he said.

Outlaw said aldermen have talked about the high rates for eight years and he would continue talking about it as mayor.

“It’s about transfers, it’s about payment through taxes, it’s about growing your electric system,” he said. “Oh, I understand the rebuttal of that is we will have to grow the 21,000-customer base. Folks, we’ve doubled in size in the last 20 years. Have you seen a reduction in your electric bill growing the electric department? No, we don’t need to do that.”

Outlaw said the city needed to get out of the electric business and let somebody who knows how to do it cheaper do it.

New Bern’s two mayoral candidates put on a strong finish to a long campaign Tuesday night as they head to the runoff election next week.

Candidates Dana Outlaw and Sabrina Bengel answered six questions each and rebutted and responded to each other during their final debate, which was held in front of about 250 people in Orringer Auditorium at Craven Community College.

It was Bengel’s and Outlaw’s third debate. Wes Goforth, an anchor at channel 12, moderated.

Bengel said the mayoral race was about the future of the city that some people see as being divided.

“But we are a city on the move,” she said. “It is important that we work as one.”

Bengel said everyone knew the city needed a stronger economy, better neighborhoods and job growth and, as mayor, she would work with the Board of Aldermen, city staff and community leaders to provide those things. She said she has always worked hard to find solutions to city problems.

“It is time to give New Bern residents back their voice,” she said, adding it was time to stop political bickering.

In Outlaw’s opening statement, he said the mayoral debates have not gone the way he would have liked them to go. He said he wanted to go into the neighborhoods and talk about the issues, like the speeding problem in Ghent and sewer allocations in James City.

When it comes to serious issues, the citizens could be assured they would get someone with a working relationship with aldermen, experience and leadership abilities and someone who knew every mile of the city, Outlaw said.

The first question to Bengel was how she could bring respect back to the office of mayor.

“I think it’s important that we have a mayor the citizens can call on and can count on,” Bengel said. “And unfortunately, in the past four years, our current mayor has come up on some personal issues and other issues that I feel have … has made it appear he was not being respectful to the office. I think it is the highest honor and privilege to be mayor of this city.”

The mayor of New Bern should be held to the highest principles, dress and speak appropriately at all times, be able to attend functions and show up when called upon, Bengel said.

“This city deserves nothing but the best,” she said. “And the person who is at the head of the city and is our ambassador and is the person the citizens look to should be prepared and ready in that role at all times.”

Bengel said she believes she has conducted herself in an honorable and respectful manner and would bring that to the mayor’s office.

Outlaw said it has been difficult at times during the past four years.

“Several times I thought the mayor needed a time out, of sorts,” he said.

Outlaw went to the aldermen and Bengel asking for public censure and admonishment of the mayor. He wrote to the attorney general and the district attorney with concerns. He also asked for the mayor’s resignation.

“These are difficult things,” Outlaw said. “These are things I don’t want to do. But let me say this, I want any aldermen — when something gets out of hand — or whoever is mayor to show some leadership this time around. Mrs. Bengel had a perfect opportunity to do the same thing. To this day, I have never heard a word out of her as to her true feelings about his conduct.”

As mayor, Outlaw said he would have regular hours at City Hall to see and listen to citizens.

“I want you to feel that the mayor’s office in the downtown City Hall is in your living room, and I’m ready to do that for you,” Outlaw said.

Bengel responded by saying “innocent until proven guilty; there by the grace of God go I” and she would never condemn someone in a public forum before they are convicted in a court of law.

“While the mayor may have had his problems or issues, I did not ask for his resignation,” she said. “But I did try to offer my help to him and assistance. As aldermen of the city of New Bern, we are all leaders and follow that path.”

When Outlaw was asked what he planned to do about high utility rates, an issue he has brought up several times in the campaign, he pointed out his record on the Board of Aldermen when he opposed a proposal to add a goal to the N.C. League of Municipalities to allow the city to provide electric power to all property annexed into the city limits. That proposal, supported by Bengel and the rest of the board, passed.

If electric rates were 4 percent or 5 percent higher than surrounding cities, Outlaw said he might have voted for it. But not when New Bern was 30 percent higher in electric rates, he said.

Outlaw said aldermen have talked about the high rates for eight years and he would continue talking about it as mayor.

“It’s about transfers, it’s about payment through taxes, it’s about growing your electric system,” he said. “Oh, I understand the rebuttal of that is we will have to grow the 21,000-customer base. Folks, we’ve doubled in size in the last 20 years. Have you seen a reduction in your electric bill growing the electric department? No, we don’t need to do that.”

Outlaw said the city needed to get out of the electric business and let somebody who knows how to do it cheaper do it.

“That’s the American way,” he said.

Outlaw said he would continue working on the problem.

Bengel rebutted Outlaw by saying the 30 percent higher rate is there because of the debt the city is stuck with through its membership in ElectriCities. Customers are paying 30 cents of every dollar on their electric bill to pay for the debt, she said.

The cost of electricity has gone up over the years, which also increased the cost to customers, Bengel said.

“We do have to grow out of it,” she said. “That is why I voted to try to increase the number of users.”

Bengel said if the rates were lower, it would mean raising taxes to continue providing services. Every $1 increase in electric costs would take a $5 increase in taxes to keep providing the $2.2 million that come from electric transfers and go into the general fund to pay for police, fire protection and parks and recreation, she said.

New Bern has 21,000 customers on its electric system and 13,000 are inside the city limits, Bengel said.

“Do I penalize the taxpayers of New Bern to give the other 6,000 a decrease in the rate?” she said. “We have worked from day one in that office looking for ways and opportunities to decrease the electric bill.”

One of those ways was trying to intervene in the Duke/Progress merger, she said.

“We are continuing to look at cost-cutting measures and other issues, and I can’t believe that seven of us sitting up on that board for the last four years did nothing about electric,” Bengel said. “We had every opportunity. I was in hopes Mr. Outlaw would have chaired something, brought a committee forward to help us to propel this lower rate, but I saw nothing. But I am ready to continue the fight.”

Outlaw was quick to respond.

“Well folks, I don’t know if you heard what I heard,” he said. “I heard somebody who doesn’t want to do anything about your electric rates. I also heard somebody, along with the past board, who spent $1.7 million to wire Broad Street. By the way, that was charged to your electric fund. Your $220,000 emergency operation center — 25 percent of that got charged. So you’re listening to a candidate who wants to do something about it versus a candidate who is an establishment, staff-oriented person that’s not willing to go outside of her ward.”

Goforth said elections have a tendency to fractionalize a community and he asked Bengel what she intended to do restore community spirit and cooperation.

Bengel said she was worried about the amount of misinformation and ashamed at some of the things said about her and her family, and probably said about Outlaw and his family.

“That is so unnecessary when, with one phone call, the correct answer could have given,” Bengel said. “That has fractionalized this city. I am saddened by the fact that I hear the comments about ‘are you only here about downtown’ and ‘you’re only going to work for downtown.’ I am alderman of the first ward, which includes downtown. It’s my job to work there and make it the very best it can be.”

Bengel said she hoped and assumed all the other aldermen worked just as hard in their wards.

“But as your mayor, I do realize it is service to all the people,” she said. “If you like what I have done downtown, you will like what I can do with the rest of the city.”

Bengel said the city needs to be as one and no one area should more important than the others.

“Is downtown an economic engine for the city?” she said. “It is. It creates jobs. It creates tax base that can help other parts of the city that may not have the opportunity to do that. But we must come together as one people with one cause and that is a better New Bern.”

Outlaw said he was ready for “some healing for this city” that has seen a lot.

“There are so many opportunities for this city, and we are not taking advantage of them,” he said. “You know why? Because we are in these stuffy forums trying to coax you into voting for us and we should all be out in the trenches seeing what you want and seeing how we can bring it into reality. …Help me bring this city back so we can all fall back in love with it and each other.”

Some of the other questions to the candidates were discussed at the other two forums, including jobs, what they would do for small businesses, retaining young people and providing affordable housing.

On lower taxes, Outlaw said it would take a commitment from the county to work with the city and merge some services, like recreation; and partnering with the sheriff’s department to lower the crime rate.

Bengel said she wasn’t promoting lower taxes.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want lower taxes, but the reality of working to sometimes combine services is not as easy as you think,” she said. “We’ve worked for four years in trying to find some commonality with the county and we came up with (merging) the tax office.”

Although she was pleased with that merger, it is difficult process because someone has to lose their job, she said.

Any money cut from the budget would reduce services, Bengel said.

On their first 60 days as mayor, Bengel said she would first bring groups and organizations together and community leaders. Then she would talk with all the mayors in the county and region. Her next step would be to concentrate on jobs and growing the economy, raising the tax base and lowering unemployment. She would also work with stakeholders in Five Points and Duffyfield to find answers to their issues and work on the city’s infrastructure, roads, drainage and stormwater issues.

Outlaw said he also would organize different boards and committees and then get into the communities to face the issues of zoning, overgrown grass and potholes, something he wanted to do during the debates.

He said he was familiar with the problems in the city and would be a liaison for the communities and support the aldermen representing those communities. He said he also wanted to stimulate the city staff to help make New Bern better.

Tuesday’s final mayoral debate was sponsored by the New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce and Craven Community College.

The runoff election is Tuesday.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.